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Heavy rainfall in the Somerset Dam catchment has been an Easter weekend gift from the heavens for overall water supply levels, with dam operators starting operational releases into Wivenhoe Dam on Tuesday morning.
Seqwater CEO Neil Brennan said operational releases commenced from Somerset Dam about 10am and would continue for several days, after rainfall between 50-200mm fell at different locations across the Somerset Dam catchment over the Easter weekend.
“Seqwater is releasing water from Somerset Dam into Wivenhoe Dam via sluice gates to manage inflows and balance the water storage levels across both dams,” he said.
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Despite an ominous forecast, there was no Easter Monday deluge for the Ipswich region.
The better rainfall was recorded nearer the coast late Monday and early Tuesday, with the Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset Regions recording falls averaging 10-20mm.
Wivenhoe Dam recorded 27mm after 9am Monday, but Moogerah again missed out, only recording 8mm over the same period.
Goodna and Karalee both received about 25mm each, while Harrisville, Amberley and Gatton were all around the 15mm mark.
The good news is that rain and showers are forecast to continue throughout the rest of Tuesday, with more modest falls predicted to add to the rain that has already come over the past fortnight.
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PARTS of the Brisbane and Lockyer catchments received healthy rainfall on Sunday night and the forecast is looking good for more.
Figures between 25-35mm were recorded at Mulgowie, Bill Gunn Dam just outside Laidley, and at Wivenhoe Dam to 9am Monday.
Gatton missed the best of it, only recording 16mm. Down towards the Fassifern region the falls were also a bit disappointing, with 11mm at Kalbar, but a slightly healthier 24mm at Harrisville.
Falls across Ipswich averaged between 5-10mm.
The good news is that there should be more rain coming.
The Bureau of Meteorology has given the region a near certain chance of rain Monday and Tuesday, with heavy isolated falls also possible on Wednesday and Thursday.